Not long ago, the Wuhu Economic Development Zone People’s Court made a judgment on a case of trademark infringement. It was an act of registering exclusive trademark rights for a private kitchen and a fishing village hotel company.

In 2006, the Nanjing Fishing Village Hotel Company was established in Nanjing and was the plaintiff. In 2015, it registered the "Jiangyan" trademark and invested money for actual use and publicity. The defendant registered "XX Private Restaurant in Jinghu District" in 2012. He is an individual industrial and commercial owner, and his business scope is in Wuhu City, Anhui Province. The word "Jiang Yan" is used on the store sign or menu. However, in 2016, after reaching an agreement with Liu, the private restaurant was transferred to Liu. In July 2016, the "Private Restaurant of XX in Jinghu District" was canceled, and then re-registered as "Private Restaurant of XX in Jinghu District" in August. ”, the business scale, business location and business methods have not changed.

Just in 2016, the plaintiff made a formal preservation of the defendant’s infringement by taking photos and notarizing it. It believed that the defendant had used the registered trademark “Jiangyan” without authorization, which was a trademark infringement and constituted unfair misconduct. Competition, requesting the court to order the defendant to stop the infringement and compensate for economic losses and reasonable expenses of ***100,000 yuan.

According to the court hearing, the individual industrial and commercial household has been canceled after the transfer, and the store’s civil subject qualifications have disappeared. Although the re-registered store is the same from the outside to the inside, the newly established individual industrial and commercial household , the original rights and obligations cannot be inherited, so the defendant’s prior rights are not established. At the same time, the plaintiff and the defendant are far apart. The plaintiff's influence has not yet reached Wuhu City. The two parties operate in different places, so there will be no unfair competition. Although no evidence could be provided to prove trademark infringement, the defendant used the plaintiff’s registered trademark, and the order was ordered to stop using the “Jiang Yan” trademark.

Bajie Intellectual Property’s short comment: The defendant should transfer and re-register the individual industrial and commercial household, but it cannot inherit the original rights and obligations. Because the distance between the two is so far, each's influence has not yet reached the other's area, so unfair competition cannot form. The defendant's use of "Jiang Yan" does not mean that he is copying famous brands or free riding.